Film Portrait of a City: Beyond the Festival – Salzburg and the Arts

For eight weeks in summer, Salzburg is the artistic crossroads of the world. But what happens when the Festival ends in early September and the restaurants around the baroque piazzas close at 7 in the evening? When Mozart’s city seems comatose and the autumn fog fills the air with melancholy?

At yesterday’s film presentation (August 2) at the foyer of republic, the other face of Salzburg, outside the Festival summer, took center stage. In the film Abseits der Festspiele – Salzburg und die Kunst (Beyond the Festival – Salzburg and the Arts), produced by pre tv for ORF/3sat, filmmaker Peter Beringer examines an artist’s life in Salzburg during the time outside the Festival. Among others, he portrays gallery owner Thaddaeus Ropac, violinist Benjamin Schmid, painter Martina Stock, jazz musician Sabina Hank and break-dancer Alexander Wengler. He also interviews the Festival’s former director of concerts, Markus Hinterhäuser. In the end, one thing is obvious: Salzburg is a lively city, full of charm, and boasts a high quality of life.

On Sunday, August 5, 2012, you can watch the film on television: 3sat screens it at 7:15 pm.

The film is a cooperation project of ORF/3sat, the Salzburg Tourism Company and the Salzburg Festival.